NLL

Calgary Heads Home on High Note

The Calgary Roughnecks went into opposition territory and took a
major win to stay atop of the West Division against the Washington
Stealth 17-13 on Sunday night.

The win moves the Roughnecks to 7-3 in the season and the season
series against the Stealth after the two teams split two previous
encounters. The loss drops the defending champs to 5-6.

In a game of momentum, the Stealth seemed to be on their way back
in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to one when Rhys Duch
scored to make it 13-12. However, three straight goals from the
Roughnecks, all of which involved Jeff Shattler, gave the
Roughnecks the win.

Luke Wiles opened up the scoring for the Stealth early in the
first, with the teams each scoring twice more in the first period.
Curtis Dickson and Shattler scored to give the Roughnecks the 4-3
lead after the first, a lead they would never give up.

The Roughnecks expanded on their lead in the second, taking the
game to 9-6 into the half. Near the end of the half, Andrew McBride
received a ten-minute misconduct, meaning the Roughnecks would be
spending most of the third stanza without their captain.

However the Stealth couldn't take advantage of the McBride
misconduct, instead allowing Scott Ranger to score his only goal of
the game. The Roughnecks took a 11-9 lead at the end of the
third.

In the fourth, the Stealth cut the lead to one, but couldn't make
it any closer. A couple of empty net goals from Shattler and Dane
Dobbie put the game to bed.

Shattler (4G,5A) continued his hot streak with his third
consecutive game of at least eight points. Dobbie had his best game
of the year, scoring 5 goals on 11 shots. Rookie Curtis Dickson
chipped in a hat trick while Kaleb Toth (2G,2A), Daryl Veltman
(2G,3A) and Ranger (1G,3A) all contributing to the win.

Goalie Mike Poulin made 42 saves on 55 shots.

The Roughnecks will finally see home floor for the first time
since January next weekend when the Edmonton Rush come to the
Saddledome on Saturday.